I would like to know where the name of the famous Broadway, NYC, stems
from. I've come across two different people now that independently
from one another stated that it had something to do with the street
"Breiter Weg" in Magdeburg, Germany. Can you establish any link
between the two, or, alternatively, refute the idea?

Thank you.

Dear Searchbot, 

I hope everything is fine with you, because I haven't heard from you
in ages.

The meaning of the word "Broadway" in English is by the way "cow
path", see a Google Group discussion at
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V294647A2

New York was first inhabited by the Dutch, in 1609. According to the
Swiss version of 'Thinkquest', the area where Broadway is today was
back then an Indian (Native American) field. It was, according to a
New York history web site
<http://new-york.hotelscheap.org/history.asp> already an established
trades and commerce route.

The Dutch, who came to the twon, built (apparently 1647) this way as
the longest street in Manhatten (30 km) and named the way that
connected New Haarlem and New Amsterdam, "Breedweg", (or Breedwegh)
which means "Broadway" in English, as it was named later by the
English. In 1670, part of the street was name Broad Wagon Way .
Manahtten's "forgotten streets" site
<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blkyn/Manhattan/Forgotten.html>
lists the combinations of the name.

Now for the street in Magdeburg. The site "Time Machine"
("Zeitmachine") from the university of Bremen shows beautiful
historcial pictures of the street, and notes (in English): "The
"Breite Weg" english Broadway just like in New York was the main
shopping street in Magdeburg. It had beautiful baroque-houses and was
the proud of all Magdeburgers"
<http://zaitmaschine.zait.uni-bremen.de/peggy/bilder_seite_3.html>.
Moreover, according to this site, the "Breiter Weg" architecture, was
the inspiration for the Broadway architecture
<http://www.design-et-realisation.onlinehome.de/body3Dom.htm>.
However, I'm afraid, that the street in Magdeburg is apparently not
related to the "real" Broadway, despite the fact that the names mean
the same - the name "Broadway" originated from the word in its Dutch
form.

Sources: 
You can read a description of the naming of Broadway in the Swiss
Thinkquest: http://www.ch265.thinkquest.hostcenter.ch/homepage/homepage/anfang.htm
and at http://www.ch265.thinkquest.hostcenter.ch/homepage/homepage/strassensystem.htm

Search strategy: I have searched for "broadway" and "breiter weg", or
magedeburg, or "origin of the name" (in several combinations) or
"history" and for the dutch names as well.

I hope that answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification before you rate the answer.

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Request for Answer Clarification by searchbot-ga on 04 Dec 2002 05:43 PST

Hello politicalguru,

thanks for your concern, I can assure you all is well. Lurking in the
background. :) May I ask for one clarification: do you have any idea
what building on Broadway the proud Magdeburger is referring to as the
NY equivalent of the Magdeburg "Plättbolzen"?

Thank you,
searchbot

---

Clarification of Answer by politicalguru-ga on 04 Dec 2002 06:31 PST

A very wild guess - The Flatiron b. 1902 (flat iron, like Plättbolzen)
http://paulabarr.com/photos/flatiron.jpg
http://kea.cs.uni-magdeburg.de/thorhaue/travel97/Film26/26-32.html

Great answer. Thanks.